


Covert Oops!

by JudyL



Series: My Sentinel Universe [19]
Category: The Sentinel (TV)
Genre: Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-11-06
Updated: 2018-11-06
Packaged: 2019-08-19 15:03:30
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,331
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16536899
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/JudyL/pseuds/JudyL
Summary: Originally posted April 23, 2003This story came to me one morning and I forgot to write down the idea. Several weeks later, I remembered, after racking my brain for hours. How do you pull one over on a Sentinel?Takes place after TSbyBS, Blair went to the Police Academy and is Jim's official partner. This story also takes place after my story "Truth Time."





	Covert Oops!

The Loft

Blair hit send then peeked over the top of his laptop. Jim was still watching TV. Good, maybe this time… He stopped. He didn't even want to think about the "Plan" in Jim's presence. He closed down the laptop and joined Jim on the couch.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The next morning

The bullpen

Jim and Blair walked into the bullpen and headed for their desks. Rhonda intercepted them and handed Blair a stack of files.

"Here are those files I need you to check for me, Blair," she said barely flicking an eye in Jim's direction.

"Sure, thanks, Rhonda. I'll get them back to you ASAP." He took the files and placed them in his In-basket, took off his jacket then sat down to boot up his computer.

"Extra credit work, Chief?" Jim asked indicating the files Rhonda had handed him.

"Hmm? Oh, no, well, not really. Simon has her going over some of the new rookies files for mistakes. You know. I offered to give her a hand, since I've got so much practice correcting your files."

"I'll get you for that, Sandburg," Jim grumbled good-naturedly.

Blair grinned and opened the first file, confident that he had side-tracked the Sentinel for now. He read the sticky note in the file. Got it. Don't worry. I'll let you know. Blair hid a smile. Very cryptic Rhonda. He folded the note and stuck it in his pocket to dispose of later, then continued looking through the file.

****

About an hour later, Jim stood and stretched.

"I'm going to get some coffee. You want anything, Chief?"

"Yeah, Jim, coffee'd be great," Blair replied, continuing to type. He tried not to hold his breath as he watched Jim leave, hoping the Sentinel didn't "feel" every eye in the room on him as he went through the door and disappeared down the hall.

Rafe, Henri and Megan rose from their desks to make a beeline for Blair only to be stopped as Sandburg thrust both hands out in a "stop" motion, then brought his finger to his lips in a silent "shhh." He pointed to his ear to make the point. The three sank back into their chairs.

"Hey, Henri," Blair said as calmly as possible. "Didn't you say you found that website I was needing?"

H looked at Blair, the confusion on his face was slowly replaced with comprehension. "Oh, yeah, Blair."

Blair glared at him, tilting his head to indicate that the big detective needed to play along faster. "How bout I e-mail you the link, Hairboy?"

Blair grinned and nodded, confident that everyone had gotten the message. "Thanks, H."

"No problem," H got on his computer and Blair had to hide a grin as Jim came back with two cups of coffee.

The Sentinel stopped for a second. The quiet was strange, only the tapping of keyboards sounded in the room. Jim shrugged and returned to his desk.

Blair opened his mailbox and sighed. He already had several e-mails that he did not want to open with Jim around. He sighed again, forgetting about his partner's excellent hearing for just a second.

"What's wrong, Sandburg?" Ellison asked scooting his chair slightly toward Blair's desk.

The Guide's brain whirled trying to come up with a viable ruse. He tapped a key to exit the mail program and stood up before an idea solidified.

"Ah, I'm going to go see Cal about the computer network. I am receiving way too many junk e-mails. I mean this is a police station, isn't it? We shouldn't have to put up with this. Besides," he continued raking a hand through his hair, "this system should be able to filter junk mail easily." He moved away from his desk chancing a glance at his partner. Blair almost sighed in relief to see the older man concentrating on a file and not on him.

"Some one probably messed with the system's defaults again, Chief," Jim said without looking up.

"Yeah," the young detective said tossing a glare at the rest of the bullpen. He received several smirks in return as he bolted out the door.

I can check these e-mails out downstairs away from Jim's watchful eyes and solve any problems. Man! I'm glad Simon's on board with this otherwise I'd be in so much trouble. Sandburg got down to the main computer server room and asked Cal for a free console.

"Is this about…" Cal asked not finishing.

"Yeah," Blair replied. "I really need someplace secluded."

"You can use the one in the operation manager's office. She's out of town." Cal grinned. "Besides I think she kinda likes Ellison."

"Really?" Blair asked stopping to recall what Peg Martins looked like. Tall, auburn hair, deep brown eyes. Definitely someone Jim would go for. "When does she get back?" Maybe I can invite her.

"Not until next week," Cal answered.

Oh well. Blair sighed. Some things just weren't meant to be.

He settled into Peg's chair and logged onto his station mailbox. Now he had over half a dozen e-mails with the subject line "Nosille case." Blair chuckled. He'd been playing around when he suggested, several weeks ago while Jim was in court, that they use Ellison spelled backwards as their code word. But it had stuck, especially after they'd played with the pronunciation.

"No silly" and "Noz-I-lee" were two of the many nonsensical pronunciations that had the entire Major Crimes team laughing. They'd settled on "No-say" claiming it was French, and trying hard not to snicker when they had to say it out loud.

Blair opened the first e-mail from Rafe.

B - what flavor? Don't worry, I've got a plan to fool even a bloodhound's nose. R

Blair hit "reply" and typed

Vanilla all the way

It was better to be safe than sorry. Rhonda's e-mail was just an expansion on her earlier sticky note.

B - I have the distraction planned for 5:10, you make sure he's out of here and headed downstairs by then. Rhonda

Henri had a bigger dilema.

B - how am I supposed to get all this upstairs and past E? Just cause he can't smell it doesn’t mean he can't see it. Help. H

Blair grinned, but let it fade as he contemplated the problem. It wasn't like they could sneak everything in under their jackets.

H, check with Tammy, maybe she can come by with some "sandwiches" for the end of the shift. B

Simon's e-mail, evidently he'd heard and interpreted Blair's "request" from his office, was mainly to let him know everything would be in place as scheduled.

Sandburg, don't worry, everything will be delivered as planned. This had better work! Banks.

Blair smiled at the implied growl and checked Megan's e-mail.

Sandy, I think this was overkill, but you requested distraction and I got you distraction. As per Rhonda's time-table, we'll be ready. M

The next e-mail was from Sgt. Riley at the front desk, he had a very important part to play. Blair had only contacted him by e-mail for the last two weeks, hoping to keep Jim from overhearing anything.

B - Man, you have a nasty streak I cannot believe. I'll be ready. P.R.

Blair shot back a quick reply.

P.R. - Just remember that for future reference. THANKS!! I owe you. B

He opened Joel's e-mail last.

Blair, I got what you wanted, but it was more than you specified. I got it anyway, hope that's okay. If you can't handle it, I'll help. Joel.

Blair frowned. More?

Joel, Thanks, man, but this was my idea. I'll pay you back. Do you need any help getting it in? Blair.

Blair sat back, mentally calculating his expenses while he waited for Joel's response. He got one quickly.

Blair, I've got a couple of guys to help bring it up. No sweat. Joel.

Sandburg signed off the computer and stretched. A glance at his watch indicated it was almost lunch time. He headed back upstairs. "Thanks, Cal," he said as he left.

"Good luck," Cal called after him.

****

Later that afternoon, Blair walked back into the bullpen to find things a bit livelier. He wrinkled his nose at the overwhelming smell of cologne and caught the tail end of a conversation between Rafe and H.

"Man, you should smell the locker room," H was saying, standing a good distance from his partner. "It's worse than GQ here."

"You mean the whole bottle didn't land on Rafe?" Megan asked in disbelief, her nose wrinkled in disgust.

"Come on guys, this was an expensive bottle of cologne. I thought I could catch it before it spilled," Rafe whined.

Blair shot a glance at Jim, who had evidently turned his smell dial down to subnormal levels. The Sentinel grinned at Blair as the Guide returned to his desk.

"What happened to Rafe?" Blair asked with a smile. "Was he attacked by a runaway skunk?"

Ellison started to answer, then tilted his head, listening to something then frowning.

"What is it, Jim?" Blair asked, wondering what was next. His answer came not from Jim, but the hallway. And he heard it before he saw it, them.

The jingle of bells and… finger cymbols? filled the hall soon followed by a bevy of… belly dancers?!

"What the…" Blair said, standing to get a better look. An officer was leading them down the hall.

"This way ladies. No, don't bother the nice officers," he pleaded, but suddenly seemed to lose control of the situation. Nine brightly veiled ladies with bells on and chiming finger cymbols flowed into the Major Crimes bullpen.

Close on their heels was a group of six officers carrying file boxes. The first officer stopped by Ellison's desk. "These are for Captain Banks." He waited for some response from Jim who seemed to have his hands full of a belly dancer at the moment.

Simon stepped out of his office just then. "What is going on here?" It sort of looked like a harem. The ladies had attached themselves to any available man in the room and one of them seemed to be showing Megan a few moves.

The officer with the boxes went over to Banks. "These are for you, sir."

Simon glared down at him and jerked his thumb toward his office. "Put them in there. Rhonda, take care of these boxes."

Jim struggled out from under the dancer on his lap looking a little dazed.

"Jim, you okay, man?" Blair asked solicitously.

"I'm getting a little overloaded here, Chief." That was an understatement. The bright veils were making his eyes hurt and the bells seemed to be getting louder. As he tried to minimize sight and sound, the smell of Rafe's cologne came back full force and Jim was reeling from the assault on his senses.

"Come on, Jim," Blair said, glancing at the clock. Right on time. He led his Sentinel out of the bullpen.

"Hey, Blair, Jim," Tammy said pushing her food cart out of the elevator. "I've got some sandwiches and soup. Are you hungry?"

Blair smiled and shook his head, keeping a steadying hand on Jim's arm. "Not us, Tammy, but I know there are probably some takers in there," he indicated the bullpen with a toss of his head.

"Okay, see ya," she said with a wink.

Blair pushed Jim forward into the elevator. "Okay, Jim, reset your dials, man and go wait in the truck. I've got to finish up here. I'll be down shortly."

Jim started to protest, then heard the cacophony as Tammy opened the Major Crimes door, and he just nodded.

Blair grinned, pushed the ground floor button and headed back into the office. Things were happening. The dancers had disappeared. The boxes in Simon's office had been unloaded. Rafe had changed his jacket and a fan was recirculating the air. Tammy was busy unloading items from the bottom of her cart.

"Where's Joel?" Blair asked Rhonda, looking at the clock again.

"On his way back up," Rhonda said with a smile.

"Watch the elevator?" Blair whispered. Rhonda nodded.

So close, Blair thought, his heart starting to race with excitement. Please let this work.

Joel led two other officers in with the item he'd picked up for Blair. A collective gasp filled the room. Blair's face split in a wide smile.

***********

Jim managed to get his senses under control before he reached the ground floor. Can't believe I let that get to me, he thought. A little noise and visual stimuli, and that smell… well, okay, maybe the smell was allowed, but the rest… You must be getting old, Ellison.

And that was the crux of the matter. Today was his birthday, and other than a few quiet "Happy Birthday, Jim's" and of course the very nice leather gloves Blair had gotten him, no one had suggested a party or even just dinner out.

Ellison grunted, walking slowly through the lobby. You must be getting soft. In the past, Blair had tried, unsuccessfully, to throw several surprise parties. Of course, Jim had inadvertently "heard" about them, ruining the surprise. Blair had seemed quite frustrated last year and evidently had given up.

"Well, damn," Jim swore softly. He had really enjoyed the parties, even if they hadn't been a complete surprise. In a way though they had surprised him.

Jim shook his head. It was a far cry from the solitary TV dinners and twinkies he'd celebrated with before Sandburg. And the birthday wishes from their friends were always somehow unexpected.

"Son of a… " Jim's head jerked up to see what had Sgt. Riley so upset. Riley was holding a sheet of paper crumpled in his fist.

"What is it, Riley?" Jim asked, the hair on the back of his neck rising.

Riley thrust the paper at Ellison. "Can you believe this?" He showed Jim a printout of interagency warnings.

Jim grabbed the paper and read it in disbelief. "Kincaide escaped?!" he roared. Jim tilted his head, listening for Blair's heartbeat. He found it easily, then turned and sprinted up the stairs.

Sgt. Riley grinned. Sandburg owed him big.

Jim raced up the stairs, totally focused on his Guide's elevated heartbeat. He didn't know what had Blair so agitated, but the news that Kincaide had escaped from prison had caused a giant leap of intuition. His Guide was in trouble.

He slowed briefly at the sixth floor landing to ready his gun. Ellison extended his hearing to check out the bullpen. It was quiet, but hearts were racing. Damn! How did Kincaide get in this time?

He knelt and opened the door into the hall. He couldn't see anyone through the windows, so he crawled quietly to the door to Major Crimes and peeked in. No one was visible from the door. Are they all on the floor?

He made a quick decision. If Kincaide had everyone down on the floor, the only targets should be Kincaide and his men. Jim took a couple of deep breaths. He stood, pushed open the door and entered, gun ready.

The door opened and Jim leveled his gun on the room.

"SURPRISE!!"

"HAPPY BI…!!"

All the gang from Major Crimes and some other close friends and coworkers popped up from behind the desks to wish Jim a happy birthday. They all dropped quickly to the floor again as they saw Ellison's weapon pointed their direction.

"Don't shoot, Jim!" Blair screeched, realizing, maybe his decoy hadn't been such a good idea.

Jim stood frozen for about thirty seconds before he sidled over to a chair and collapsed bonelessly into it. His gun hand hung limply over the arm of the chair, barely keeping a grip on the weapon. Jim's other hand, elbow braced on the desk, held his head up.

"Sandburg," he exhaled softly, "after I finish having my heart attack, I'm gonna kill you."

Blair moved to Jim's side, now that the gun was no longer pointed at him, and gently eased the weapon out of Jim's hand.

"Geez, Jim. That does it. I'm NEVER gonna throw you another surprise party. EVER!" Blair tossed his hands in the air then placed them on his hips as he stared down at his dear, frustrating friend.

"Is it safe to come out now?" Rafe called from behind his desk. A few other brave souls peeked up from their hiding spots.

"Yeah," Blair said, his heart beating loudly in his ears, disappointment coloring his voice. "You can all come out now." He sat in the chair beside Jim. "Next year I'll just send flowers," he grumbled.

Jim looked up and saw the cautious faces all around him. They threw me a surprise party! How did they… Then he realized the elaborate sensory curtain that had been thrown up to hide the party preparations. The planning behind it spoke more than words.

"Well," he said sheepishly. "I'm surprised."

Simon chuckled as the tension drained out of the room, except for one small pocket named Sandburg.

"I should hope so," Banks said. "You have no idea how hard Sandburg worked to organize this." He motioned to Joel and H. They went into his office and came back out pushing two wheeled carts, one loaded with presents, the other with a cake, ice cream and drinks.

"Happy Birthday, Jim," Joel said.

Jim smiled, then cast another glance at the dark cloud that was his Guide. "Give us a second, would you?" Jim asked.

Simon nodded. "Don't take too long, Jim. We want cake." The others moved away and Jim focused on his friend.

"Kincaide, Chief?" he asked softly. "You sure do know which buttons to push."

Blair blushed and pushed his hair back behind his ears as he looked up at his partner.

"Yeah, well, maybe that wasn't such a good idea." He shrugged. "But I needed a way to get you back up here on your own and to cover for our elevated heart rates."

Jim rubbed his eyes with one hand. "Well, it worked."

"Yeah, so well, it almost got someone shot. You scared me, man. I thought you really were going to have a heart attack on me!" Blair shook his head. "All I wanted to do was surprise you." He looked up into Jim's eyes. "Do you know how hard that is?"

Jim nodded. "I'm sorry, Blair. I was just thinking on the way downstairs how much I liked your other surprise parties." He grinned at the slight smile on Blair's face. "I guess I was a bit disappointed when I didn't "catch" you at it this year. I was looking forward to it."

Blair's smile grew. "We've got cake and ice cream that can't be returned here, Jim. Seems like a waste not to eat them. Besides the fact that it's such a hassle to return presents."

 

"I guess we shouldn’t keep everyone waiting then, eh, Chief?" Jim stood up then offered Blair his hand and helped him up.

"Okay, Jim," Rhonda said as the partners joined the rest of the party-goers. "Make a wish and blow out the candle. We only got the one because we didn't want to set off the fire alarm." She grinned at the big detective as he laid a friendly hand on her shoulder.

Jim looked around the room at the people he considered family and made a wish before he blew out the candle.

They served the cake and ice cream and then started passing Jim his presents. Other officers and co-workers trickled in from the hall to participate.

Jim watched his friends argue over whose gift he should open first. He grinned at Rafe as he took the wrapped box from the younger man.

"This is from me, H and Megan, Jim, Happy Birthday," Rafe said stepping back to stand beside Henri.

Jim lifted the box and shook it gently, stalling just a bit to tease the eager crowd. He carefully ran his finger under the edge of the paper to break the tape and grinned at the groans.

"Just rip it, man!" Blair said, moving to help him. Jim lifted a serious hand to stop his partner.

"It's my party. I can open my presents anyway I want to."

Everyone laughed as Blair tried to match Jim's serious demeanor. Jim won. Blair smiled and chuckled. "Whatever, man. It's your day."

Jim nodded, pulled the paper out from under the box and started to fold it.

Blair cried out, "I thought I'd taught him something about relaxing during the last few years," and dramatically slumped into a chair.

Ellison crumpled the paper quickly and beaned Sandburg on the head with it. The laughter continued. Blair glared at Jim, but it was ruined by the smile that kept sneaking onto his face.

Jim decided he couldn't wait any longer. He pulled the top off the box and pushed aside the tissue paper to pull out the prize. He held up a dark brown, lined leather jacket and whistled. The leather was soft and supple under his fingers. The smell of the leather caressed his nostrils. Jim stood up and tried it on.

The fit was perfect. Ellison looked at Rafe, H and Megan and decided his tough guy image was probably lost on them anyway. He moved quickly and embraced each of the three in turn. "Thank you, I love it."

Blair watched, proud and a little amazed by his friend's show of affection. Not that Jim wasn't capable of affection, he just usually didn't like public displays.

Joel handed him his gift next. Jim sat back down and proceeded to rip the paper off the box in record time. A huge grin lit his face during the process and a quick glance at Blair caused the Guide to burst into laughter. He didn't get to see the child in Jim often and that was definitely what Jim was giving him now.

The box contained a stainless steel pocket knife with Jim's name engraved on the side. Jim stood again and gave Joel a hug. "This is great, Joel, thanks. Heaven knows it'll come in handy."

Knowing grins were exchanged as Rhonda squeezed in front of Simon to present her gift. The Captain grunted then smiled as his secretary winked at him.

Rhonda's present was in a gift bag. Jim stared at it for a second. He looked up at Rhonda with his best puppy dog eyes, he'd learned from the best, and said, "there's no paper to tear."

Rhonda shook her head sadly. "What is the world coming to?" she asked, smiling as she continued, "you are supposed to reuse the bag, Jim. I thought Blair was teaching you about recycling and saving the planet."

Jim frowned thoughtfully, looking down at the bag again. "Can I crumple the tissue paper?" he asked hopefully gazing into Rhonda's laughing eyes.

She chuckled. "How old is he supposed to be today?"

"Ten," Blair and Simon said in unison, cracking up the entire group, Jim included.

"Oh, I'll get you for that," Jim said menacingly, tossing a wadded ball of tissue paper at each of them. He reached into the bag and pulled out an eyeglass case. Inside he found a pair of glare resistant sunglasses, one of the really nice ones. "Wow, thanks, Rhonda," he said, giving her a hug as well.

"Well," Simon said, "I guess it's time for my present." The Captain had thought long and hard about the gift. At first, he'd considered season tickets for the Jags, but that seemed a little too predictable. After discussing it with Sandburg, he'd come up with a gift that Jim would really appreciate. And hopefully get a lot of use out of.

The box Simon handed him was small, like a jewelry box. Jim tore off the paper and opened the hinged box. A key lay on cotton padding inside. Jim grinned and looked up at Simon. "Gee, sir, I don't know whether to be flattered or embarrassed."

Megan and Rhonda chimed in together. "Flattered."

The guys chuckled, ignoring Simon's glare. The captain crossed his arms and let a little smirk settle across his face. "Well, Jim, you'd better be prepared to be embarrassed, because I plan to continue to beat you in landing the most fish. The key is to a cabin I just bought up at Oak Valley. If you want, you can get in on partial ownership."

"If I want?" Jim said rolling his eyes. He pulled out his keys and added the cabin key to the ring. "Wadda ya think? But you're gonna regret it when I catch more fish the next time we go up."

"In your dreams," Banks replied with a smile.

"Yeah, you guys know I always catch the biggest fish," Blair interrupted.

"Who says you're invited?" Simon growled playfully, Blair was the third share owner of the cabin.

Blair grinned knowingly at his captain.

"Thanks, Simon," Jim said standing to embrace his friend. Simon retreated in mock horror, then relented and returned the hug.

"You're welcome, Jim. Happy Birthday."

The other gifts were handled quickly and with a little less fuss as they did need to get back to work or home to family.

Jim leaned back in his chair, after thanking Tammy for the "coupons" for a week worth of free breakfast danish. That was the last present he'd opened, surprised at how many of his fellow officers and co-workers, other than the Major Crimes crew, had pitched in and gotten him a little something. Mostly useful things like gift certificates for coffee, car washes, or the movies, but the fact that they felt obliged to get him anything was surprising to Detective James Ellison. A few years ago, they wouldn't have even known or cared that it was his birthday. Granted, the people who had gotten him gifts were those he worked with on an almost daily basis. Dan Wolf, Pat Riley, Serena, just to name a few. They were people he'd come to respect and consider friends and evidently the feeling was mutual. It was a nice feeling.

The other officers and friends who'd come up for the party started to drift back to work after wishing Jim "Happy Birthday" one more time and it was just the Major Crimes family left in the bullpen now. The Sentinel sighed with contentment.

"So, Blair," H drawled, "what did you get Jim for his birthday?"

Blair started to speak, but Jim interrupted him, protecting his Guide. "He got me a very expensive pair of leather gloves." His tone left no room for argument.

"What does Jim need with new gloves, Sandy?" Megan asked innocently.

Jim started to growl at her, only to be interrupted by Sandburg.

"Well," Blair said glancing at Jim, "as I started to say, I did get you one other small thing, Jim." He pulled a box out from under Rhonda's desk and handed it to his partner.

"You didn't have to get me anything else, Chief." Jim knew Blair was still getting his finances under control, paying off student loans, not to mention his new vehicle.

"Don't worry about it, Jim," Blair was bouncing, "just open the box."

Ellison smiled. Must be good, he's more excited than I am. He popped the tape holding the box shut and opened the flaps. Jim's brow furrowed in confusion, then he smiled at the joke. He slipped the helmet on his head. "Ha, ha, I get it," he said looking up at his friend.

But the smile on Blair's face didn't say "gotcha" it said "Surprise!"

"Close your eyes, Jim," Blair said in his best Guide voice.

The Sentinel couldn't argue, so he closed his eyes and opened his hearing. The sound he heard though was out of place and he couldn't put a name to it.

"Okay, Jim. Open them."

Jim opened his eyes, and then his jaw dropped in stunned recognition. "A Harley Superglide?" He stood and went over the motorcycle Joel and H had rolled into the bullpen. "1976." Jim whispered, running a hand over the seat. The bright blue paint on the body shimmered softly under the overhead lights. He looked up into the eyes of his best friend. "You shouldn't have, Chief. There's no way you could afford this."

Blair just grinned. "You'd be surprised, big guy." The look on Jim's face was worth every penny.

"Blair's been staking out every police auction on the West Coast," Joel said. "We just had to wait for the right bike at the right price. He got a great deal, Jim, really."

Jim reverently touched the handlebars. He'd wanted a motorcycle as a teenager, but had never gotten around to fulfilling that part of his childhood fantasies. Life had just gotten too complicated. When did Blair find out about this? I don't remember telling him.

"Okay, Sandburg," Simon said, "you were right. He likes your gift best."

His friends chuckled. Jim looked up a little embarrassed, only to find a set of keys dangling from Blair's fingers in front of his face.

"It's all yours, Jim. But you'd better wear the helmet," Blair said knocking on the helmet that Jim was still wearing.

Jim pulled the helmet off and set it on the seat of the bike. He moved over to his Guide and pulled him into a bear hug. "Thank you, Blair." He held his friend just a fraction longer and tighter than the previous hugs, then keeping his arm draped over Blair's shoulders, Jim turned to face the rest of his family.

"Thank you, all. This was… a surprise party to beat all surprise parties."

"I'll say," Rafe chimed in.

"Let's do it without the gun next year," Joel added.

"Maybe while Jim's off duty," Rhonda joked.

"Are you kidding?" Blair asked. "He's even more dangerous at home. He sleeps with that thing under his pillow."

Chuckles circled the room, but they all noticed the tinge of pink in Jim's cheeks.

"Why don't we just go back to me pretending not to know about the party, eh, Chief?"

"It does seem to be less dangerous that way, Sandburg," Simon agreed.

"Man, try to do something nice for a friend," Blair shook his head in disgust. He grinned suddenly.

"Oh, no!" Jim groaned. "He's got a plan."

"Naw, Jim. Not yet," Blair's expression turned thoughtful. "Don't worry, though, I love a challenge. I think I'm starting to get the hang of this covert operations stuff."

Jim gave Blair's shoulders a little squeeze. "Now that I know this was all a cover up, I have to say I'm pretty impressed. But whose idea was the belly dancers?"

Megan's face flushed bright red. "They owed me a favor."

Blair jumped in to save Megan. "Everybody helped, Jim. It was a group effort."

Jim smiled. "Yeah, well, just don't do it so well next year, please. I don't think my heart can take it." He backed away as Blair tried to elbow him in the ribs.

"You're just upset cause we pulled one over on you," Blair teased, bobbing back and forth like a fighter, throwing playful jabs at the older man. "You getting old, man."

"Yeah, Junior," Jim feinted one way and caught Sandburg's arm, pulling him into a headlock. "Maybe I'm gettin' older, but you're gettin' slower."

"Hey, man, not the hair!" Blair tried to wriggle free as Jim tousled his curls.

"Ten," Simon said, grinning as he watched the pair goof off.

"I was going to say eight," Rhonda countered.

"Guess that means he's too young to ride that cycle," H sighed, "I'll just have to break it in for him." He picked up the helmet and started to swing his leg over the seat.

"Oh, no you don't," Jim growled, dropping his hold on Blair's head and grabbing his helmet from H. "I get to ride it first," he said, backing the other man down with a glare.

"Eight," Rhonda and Simon said, nodding to each other. The only possible response was more laughter.

The end.

**Author's Note:**

> I did not make a mistake, there is a Harley-Davidson Superglide. I did a little online research, looking for a bike I thought looked like Jim. The Electraglide also exists, but I thought a more vintage model would appeal to him. I'm sure the cost would have been high, but who knows maybe you can pick one up for a song at a police vehicle auction. It's fiction, if you want more reality you'll have to look elsewhere. :)


End file.
